Resident Alien: The Man With No Name #1

Dark Horse has sent out advance review copies of Resident Alien: The Man With No Name #1, which will be on sale in comic shops on September 14. It’s the fourth installment of the series written by Peter Hogan and illustrated by Steve Parkhouse, and I quite enjoy it.

The concept is simple, but full of charm. “Harry” is actually a stranded telepathic alien, but he’s settled in as a retired country doctor. However, odd things keep happening in Patience, Washington, and he winds up solving murders.

This issue is a slow start in getting to any crimes, but one of the things I like about the series is how well the characters are established through small character bits. We check in with the mayor, who’s running for re-election, and he and Harry are going to play poker later. This is the kind of small-town life well-known from fact and fiction.

There’s not anything specific to point out here without spoiling the fun of the read. It’s just conversation about things that promise to be important as we learn more about what’s happening. Hogan and Parkhouse are terrific in the small moments that feel realistic that add up to more. That also makes it a fine starting point, if you haven’t met the inhabitants of Patience before.

As shown by these preview pages, in this miniseries, the feds are taking a more active tack in trying to find him while covering tracks. They’ve gotten a photo of the doctor’s assistant, who’s been warned by her shamanistic father to change her appearance.